The Scaglia Toscana Formation of the Monti del Chianti: new lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data

The Scaglia Toscana Formation (Scisti Policromi Auctt.) is one of the most investigated formations of the Tuscan Nappe. The formation is widely exposed in the Chianti Mounts and despite the number of studies in this area, some aspects remain poorly known and debated.In this paper new litho- and bio-stratigraphic data from eight key-sections distributed over the entire area are provided and discussed in order to clarify the stratigraphic relationships among different lithostratigraphic members, as well as the depositional ages of each member. The formation was deposited in the Cretaceous-Oligo-cene time interval and it can be subdivided into five lithostratigraphic members: i) the “Argilliti di Brolio” (wine-red shales with sporadic siliceous calcilutites and rare interbedded cherts); ii) the “Marne del Sugame” (red and pink marls, calcareous marls and marly limestones with interbedded calcarenitic beds and ruditic lens-shaped bodies including calcareous-siliceous clasts); iii) the “Argilliti di Cintoia” (grey-green to black shales, locally with manganese-rich siliceous calcilutites and cherts); iv) the “Calcareniti di Montegrossi” (thin beds of calcilutites and calcarenites with varicoloured shaly-marly interbeds); and v) the “Argilliti e Calcareniti di Dudda” (alternating thin beds of calcilutites and calcarenites with varicoloured shaly-marly interbeds). These members were deposited in a marine environment and have been interpreted as deposited in a turbiditic system, in which shaly and calcareous turbiditic members have been attributed to a basin plain below the CCD, whereas the marls and marly limestones of the Marne del Sugame Member were deposited in a slope/ramp environment above or close to the CCD. Furthermore, the combination of these new data with structural informations coming from the literature allowed a better paleogeographic reconstruction of the paleobasin. In order to better explain these data, the paper is accompanied by two geological maps realized in the past but never distributed. The two geological maps, at the scale of 1:25,000, cover the whole area from the Cintoia (south of Florence) to the San Gusmè (north of Siena) villages

Age-related changes in afferent pathways and urothelial function in the male mouse bladder

Key points •The prevalence of bladder conditions such as overactive bladder syndrome and urinary incontinence significantly increases with age, but how bladder function is altered by ageing is unclear. •Sensory nerves together with the epithelial lining of the bladder known as the urothelium play a key role in mediating bladder function. •In aged male mice we find a significant increase in natural bladder voiding, augmented afferent nerve firing during bladder filling and a significant increase in urothelial responses to purinergic receptor stimulation. •This suggests that with ageing there is increased purinergic transmission in the mouse bladder which may lead to increased sensation and result in bladder hypersensitivity. •These findings help us better understand how the function of the bladder may be affected by advancing age. Abstract The prevalence of lower urinary tract storage disorders such as overactive bladder syndrome and urinary incontinence significantly increase with age. Previous studies have demonstrated age-related changes in detrusor function and urothelial transmitter release but few studies have investigated how the urothelium and sensory pathways are affected. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ageing on urothelial-afferent signalling in the mouse bladder. Three-month-old control and 24-month-old aged male mice were used. In vivo natural voiding behaviour, sensory nerve activity, urothelial cell function, muscle contractility, transmitter release and gene and protein expression were measured to identify how all three components of the bladder (neural, contractile and urothelial) are affected by ageing. In aged mice, increased voiding frequency and enhanced low threshold afferent nerve activity was observed, suggesting that ageing induces overactivity and hypersensitivity of the bladder. These changes were concurrent with altered ATP and acetylcholine bioavailability, measured as transmitter overflow into the lumen, increased purinergic receptor sensitivity and raised P2X3 receptor expression in the urothelium. Taken together, these data suggest that ageing results in aberrant urothelial function, increased afferent mechanosensitivity, increased smooth muscle contractility, and changes in gene and protein expression (including of P2X3). These data are consistent with the hypothesis that ageing evokes changes in purinergic signalling from the bladder, and further studies are now required to fully validate this idea

A ligand-based system for receptor-specific delivery of proteins

Gene delivery using vector or viral-based methods is often limited by technical and safety barriers. A promising alternative that circumvents these shortcomings is the direct delivery of proteins into cells. Here we introduce a non-viral, ligand-mediated protein delivery system capable of selectively targeting primary skin cells in-vivo. Using orthologous self-labelling tags and chemical cross-linkers, we conjugate large proteins to ligands that bind their natural receptors on the surface of keratinocytes. Targeted CRE-mediated recombination was achieved by delivery of ligand cross-linked CRE protein to the skin of transgenic reporter mice, but was absent in mice lacking the ligand\u2019s cell surface receptor. We further show that ligands mediate the intracellular delivery of Cas9 allowing for CRISPR-mediated gene editing in the skin more efficiently than adeno-associated viral gene delivery. Thus, a ligand-based system enables the effective and receptor-specific delivery of large proteins and may be applied to the treatment of skin-related genetic diseases

Left ventricle remodelling by double-patch sandwich technique

BACKGROUND: The sandwich double-patch technique was adopted as an alternative method for reconstruction of the left ventricle after excision of postinfarction dysfunctional myocardium to solve technical problems due to the thick edges of the ventricular wall. METHODS: Over a 5-year period, 12 of 21 patients with postinfarction antero-apical left ventricular aneurysm had thick wall edges after wall excision. It was due to akinetic muscular thick tissue in 6 cases, while in the other 6 with classic fibrous aneurysm, thick edges remained after the cut of the border zone. The ventricular opening was sandwiched between two patches and this is a technique which is currently used for the treatment of the interventricular septum rupture. In our patients the patches are much smaller than the removed aneurysm and they were sutured simply by a single row of single stitches. However, in contrast to interventricular septum rupture where the patches loosen the tension of the tissues, in our patients the patches pull strongly and restrain the walls by fastening their edges and supporting tight stitches. In this way they could narrow the cavity and close the ventricle. RESULTS: The resected area varied from 5 × 4 to 8 × 8 cm. Excision was extended into the interventricular septum in 5 patients, thus opening the right ventricle. CABG was performed on all patients but two. Left ventricular volumes and the ejection fraction changed significantly: end-systolic volume 93.5 ± 12.4 to 57.8 ± 8.9 ml, p < 0.001; end-diastolic volume 157.2 ± 16.7 to 115.3 ± 14.9 ml, p < 0.001; ejection fraction 40.3 ± 4.2 to 49.5 ± 5.7%, p < 0.001. All patients did well. One patient suffered from bleeding, which was not from the wall suture, and another had a left arm paresis. The post-operative hospital stay was 5 to 30 days with a mean 10.5 ± 7.5 days/patient. At follow-up, 9 to 60 months mean 34, all patients were symptom-free. NYHA class 2.5 ± 0.8 changed to 1.2 ± 0.4, p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: The double-patch sandwich technique (bi-patch closure) offers some advantages and does not result in increased morbidity and mortality. In the case of excising a left ventricular aneurysm, this technique in no way requires eversion of the edges, felt strips, buttressed and multiple sutures, all of which are needed for longitudinal linear closure. Moreover, it does not require purse string sutures, endocardial scar remnant to secure the patch or folding the excluded non-functional tissue, all of which are needed for endoventricular patch repair

The role of war in deep transitions: exploring mechanisms, imprints and rules in sociotechnical systems

This paper explores in what ways the two world wars influenced the development of sociotechnical systems underpinning the culmination of the first deep transition. The role of war is an underexplored aspect in both the Techno-Economic Paradigms (TEP) approach and the Multi-level perspective (MLP) which form the two key conceptual building blocks of the Deep Transitions (DT) framework. Thus, we develop a conceptual approach tailored to this particular topic which integrates accounts of total war and mechanisms of war from historical studies and imprinting from organisational studies with the DT framework’s attention towards rules and meta-rules. We explore in what ways the three sociotechnical systems of energy, food, and transport were affected by the emergence of new demand pressures and logistical challenges during conditions of total war; how war impacted the directionality of sociotechnical systems; the extent to which new national and international policy capacities emerged during wartime in the energy, food, and transport systems; and the extent to which these systems were influenced by cooperation and shared sacrifice under wartime conditions. We then explore what lasting changes were influenced by the two wars in the energy, food, and transport systems across the transatlantic zone. This paper seeks to open up a hitherto neglected area in analysis on sociotechnical transitions and we discuss the importance of further research that is attentive towards entanglements of warfare and the military particularly in the field of sustainability transitions

Neurogenic mechanisms in bladder and bowel ageing

The prevalence of both urinary and faecal incontinence, and also chronic constipation, increases with ageing and these conditions have a major impact on the quality of life of the elderly. Management of bladder and bowel dysfunction in the elderly is currently far from ideal and also carries a significant financial burden. Understanding how these changes occur is thus a major priority in biogerontology. The functions of the bladder and terminal bowel are regulated by complex neuronal networks. In particular neurons of the spinal cord and peripheral ganglia play a key role in regulating micturition and defaecation reflexes as well as promoting continence. In this review we discuss the evidence for ageing-induced neuronal dysfunction that might predispose to neurogenic forms of incontinence in the elderly